In this forth session of our series on the Kings of the Old Testament, we look again at the book of Kings and especially the figures of Elijah and Elisha, the great prophets of the Northern Kingdom of Israel. We follow the history up to the time of the Assyrian Invasion.
Listen online, part 1 [here]!
Listen online, part 2 [here]!
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The Kings
of the Old Testament
Adult
Faith Formation Series, May/June 2022
Session 4:
The Northern Kingdom (Elijah and Elisha)
Class Schedule, Tuesdays from 7
to 8pm
May 17th –
Introduction: Goals for this Course, Historical Background, Biblical Books
May 24th – Saul and
David (1 and 2 Samuel)
May 31st – Solomon and
the Divided Kingdom (1 and 2 Kings)
June 7th – The Divided
Kingdom up to the Assyrian Invasion of Israel (Elijah and Elisha)
June 14th – Kings of
Judah up to the Babylonian Captivity (and 1 and 2 Chronicles)
June 21st – No Class,
Preparing for Ordination of Bishop Elect Fleming
June 28th – The Return
to Jerusalem (and Historical Context)
I. Overview
of the Storyline of 1 and 2 Kings
A basic
breakdown of the narrative of 1 and 2 Kings can divide the book into three
sections:
1) The
History of Solomon (11 chapters)
2)
The Division of the Kingdom up to the Assyrian Invasion (28
chapters)
3) The
History of Judah from Hezekiah up to the Babylonian Captivity (8 chapters)
It may
be helpful, though, to break the second section into smaller parts. The history
of the divided Kingdoms could be broken down into three parts.
2a) The formation of the two Kingdoms of Israel and Judah (5
chapters)
2b) The account of the various kings of the Northern and
Southern Kingdoms (14 chapters)
2c) The final break down of the Northern Kingdom from Jehu to
the Assyrian Invasion (9 chs)
Lastly,
even this can be broken into yet smaller sections by dividing part 2b as
follows:
2b, i) The narrative
covering the time of Elijah (8 chapters)
2b, ii) The narrative
covering the time of Elisha (6 chapters)
Thus, a
thematic outline of the entire book of Kings would be:
1) The
History of Solomon (1 Kings 1-11)
2)
The Division of the Kingdoms up to the Assyrian Invasion (1
Kings 12 – 2 Kings 17)
a. The
formation of the two Kingdoms (1 Kings 12-16)
b. The
account of the Northern and Sothern Kingdoms (1 Kings 17 – 2 Kings 8)
i.
The narrative covering the time of Elijah (1 Kings 17 – 2 Kings
2)
ii.
The narrative covering the time concerning Elisha (2 Kings 3-8)
c. The
final breakdown of the Northern Kingdom and the Assyrian Invasion (2 Kings
9-17)
3) The
History of Judah from Hezekiah up to the Babylonian Captivity (2 Kings 18-25)
*In
today’s course, we will discuss Elijah and Elisha who were consecutive prophets
from the reign of Ahaz to that of Jehu. This covers from 1 Kings 17 to 2 Kings
13 (because Elisha is alive for the first part of the rule of Jehu) – that is nineteen
chapters of Kings devoted to a short span of around thirty-five years, from
about 870-835 BC. Nineteen of the
forty-seven chapters in total (over 40%) are dedicated to less than 10% of the
total timeline covered by Kings! We can see the importance of Elijah and
Elisha, not only for Kings but also for the whole of Scripture!
II. Elijah
the Tishbite
“Elias”
which is used especially in older Catholic Bibles, is based on the Greek and
Latin version of the name; while Elijah is closer to the Hebrew. The name means
“The Lord is my God” – which summarizes his mission.
Taken
mostly from The Catholic Encyclopedia:
The
loftiest and most wonderful prophet of the Old Testament. What we know of his
public life is sketched in a few popular narratives enshrined, for the most
part, in the Third Book of Kings. These narratives, which bear the stamp of an
almost contemporary age, very likely took shape in Northern Israel, and are
full of the most graphic and interesting details. Every part of the prophet's
life therein narrated bears out the description of the writer of Ecclesiasticus/Sirach:
He was "as a fire, and his word burnt like a torch" (48:1).
Elijah
was called as a prophet during the reign of Ahab who was influenced by his
pagan wife Jezebel and introduced the worship of Baal. Additionally, Ahab and
Jezebel persecuted the prophets of God.
Of Elijah’s
origin nothing is known, except that he was a Tishbite. His whole manner of
life resembles somewhat that of the Nazarites and is a loud protest against his
corrupt age. He appears abruptly on the scene of history to announce to Ahab that
the Lord will punish the idolatry of Israel with a draught. His message
delivered, the prophet vanished as suddenly as he had appeared, and, guided by
the spirit, betook himself by the brook Chorath, to the east of the Jordan, and
the ravens "brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and
flesh in the evening, and he drank of the torrent" (xvii, 6). *Note the role of ravens in the monastic
tradition.*
After
the brook had dried up, Elijah crossed over to Zarephath and worked the miracle
of the meal and oil for the widow and her son. For three years there fell no
rain or dew in Israel, and the land was utterly barren. Elijah confronts king
Ahab again and challenges the prophets of Baal to a contest on Mount
Carmel. Before a large crowd, the Lord
proves himself to be the true God by receiving the sacrifice, while Baal is
shown to be false. The people slay all the prophets of Baal, and Elijah goes up
the mountain – rain is again given to the land. The mysterious scene when
Elijah outruns Ahab in his chariot.
In her
rage, Jezebel, hunts for Elijah to take his life. Elijah flees to Mount Horeb –
having been strengthened by the bread given under the juniper tree. On Horeb,
Elijah receives the revelation of God in the “tiny whispering voice” (1 Kings
19:12) Three commands are laid upon him: to anoint Hazael to be King of Syria,
Jehu to be King of Israel, and Elisha to be his own successor. On his way to
Damascus he meets Elisha at the plough, and throwing his mantle over him, makes
him his faithful disciple and inseparable companion, to whom the completion of
his task will be entrusted.
The
treacherous murder of Naboth was the occasion for a new reappearance of Elijah
at Jezrael, as a champion of the people's rights and of social order, and to
announce to Ahab his impending doom. Ahab gives some level of repentance, and
the Lord delays the punishment for a time. Elijah also predicts the death of
Ahaziah (son of Ahab) from an injury he had incurred by a fall. Soldiers sent
to arrest Elijah are consumed by fire from heaven.
In the
presence of Elisha, Elijah is taken up to heaven in a fiery chariot and
whirlwind (2 Kings 2:11). Elisha
receives Elijah’s mantle, and a double portion of the spirit of Elijah.
Finally,
we note that 2 Chronicles 21:12 also tells a story of Elijah in which he sends
a letter to King Joram of Judah, criticizing the false worship Joram is
promoting in the Southern Kingdom and predicting the death of the king. This is
very unusual, because Elijah was a prophet of the North and Joram would seem to
be after the time of Elijah’s being taken up.
Elijah
is a most prominent figure in the Bible – perhaps the second or third most
prominent in the Old Testament after Moses and Abraham. Malachi prophecies that
Elijah will prepare the way for the Messiah (Malachi 4:5-6) and this tradition
is carried over and restated in the New Testament. St John the Baptist is
presented as another Elijah. And the prophet himself is present at the
Transfiguration.
III. Elisha,
the Successor to Elijah
Elisha
had asked for a “double portion” of the spirit of Elijah – and, whereas Kings
tells of 8 miracles performed by Elijah, there are accounts of 16 by
Elisha. Elisha carries forward the
mission of Elijah.
“Elisha”
is from the Hebrew, while “Eliseus” is from the Latin and Greek. The name means
“God is salvation”.
Having
been chosen by Elijah, Elisha slaughters his oxen and cooks them over a fire
made of the wood from the plough – he gives this food to his people. The Lord
had said to Elijah, “It shall come to pass that whosoever shall escape the
sword of Hazael [king of Syria], shall be slain by Jehu; and whosoever shall
escape the sword of Jehu, shall be slain by Elisha. And I will leave me seven
thousand men in Israel whose knees have not been bowed before Baal, and every
mouth that hath not worshipped him, kissing the hands.” (1 Kings 19:17-18)
After
seeing Elijah taken to heaven, Elisha takes up the prophetic office forcefully.
He miraculously crosses the Jordan (which flows back before him, even as it had
for Elijah), he purifies the waters of Jericho with salt [*remember blessed
salt and holy water], he calls she-bears to kill forty-two boys that mocked him
(2 Kings 2:19-24), he works the miracle for the multiplications of the widows
oil, he gains for another woman the gift of a boy and then raises that boy to
life later when he had died, he cures the leprosy of Naaman through the waters
of the Jordan [*a foreshadowing of baptism], he makes the iron head of an axe
float (2 Kings 6:6), and much more.
Elisha
also delegated a prophet to anoint Jehu as King of Israel – and Jehu destroys
the lineage of Ahab, fulfilling all that Elijah had threatened.
Elisha
dies of a sickness which seems to have been a recuring illness. After he is
buried, when another dead body is placed in his tomb, as it touches Elisha’s
remains, the corpse suddenly revives and the man stands up alive. “In his life
he did great wonders, and in death he wrought miracles.” (Sirach 48:15)
*** See
the summary of the prophetic ministry of both Elijah and Elisha in Sirach
48.***
V.
Study of Particular Passages
A. The
challenge of Elijah to the prophets of Baal, and their defeat at Mt Carmel (1
Kings 18)
Note especially, the strong
monotheism and how Elijah’s name reflects his mission.
Likewise, this strong monotheism is
again central to the mission of Elisha – after Naaman is cured, he
says “There is no other God, in all the earth, but only in Israel.” (2 Kings
5:15)
B. The
return of rain, and the connection to Our Lady of Mount Carmel (1 Kings
18:41-46)
C. The
question of Elijah’s assumption, compared to Our Lady’s. Also, looking to the
Transfiguration, and the Second Coming.
Remembering also Enoch.
VI. The
Assyrian Captivity
The Northern
Kingdom is finally conquered by the Neo-Assyrian Empire under the rule of
Tiglath-Pileser III and Shalmaneser V. The Assyrians were exceptionally cruel,
even for the ancient world. The ten northern tribes were led to exile and
ultimately lost to history by the following kings Sargon II and Sennacherib
(who is perhaps most famous for his brutality – he is mentioned in the Bible).
The Assyrians also did besiege Jerusalem but were not able to take it (see 2
Kings 18).
This
Assyrian invasion began around 740 BC and Samaria (the capital of the Northern
Kingdom) was taken in 722 BC.
The
event is commemorated by an inscription on the walls of the Royal Palace of the
Assyrians – Sargon states: “In my first
year of reign *** the people of Samaria *** to the number of 27,290 ... I
carried away. / Fifty chariots for my royal equipment I selected. The city I
rebuilt. I made it greater than it was before. / People of the lands I had
conquered I settled therein. My official (Tartan) I placed over them as
governor.”
At this
time, at least some of the Northern Kingdom fled as refugees to the Southern
Kingdom. The rest, who were taken into exile, were deported throughout the
Assyrian Empire and lost their identity.
(Note:
The Samaritans of the New Testament time period would be descendants of those
Israelites who avoided deportation and exile, managing to remain in the region
of Samaria. Their religious beliefs were highly tainted by the influence of
other religions, though they do have an original connection to authentic
ancient Judaism.)
